Wednesday, 13 November 2013

Picasso Baby or almost Olympic Records in the Art Market

Yesterday, November 12 2013, Christie's New York auction in Rockefeller Plaza has broken more than one record: the auction itself gathered unprecedented $691,5 mln in total sales of which $142,4 mln. were paid for Francis Bacon's triptych, Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969). This sale smashed previous record of the most expensive painting ever sold in public auction - Edvard Munch's The Scream (1985) which went for $119.9mln. on May 2, 2012 on the competitor's auction.

According to Former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher Bacon was the “(that) man who paints

those dreadful pictures”. This triptych depicts Bacon's friend and rival Freud and was sold almost twice as much as it was estimated by Christie's

Edvard Munch's The Scream has several variations.

This one is tempera and pastel on board (1893)

but very few of you probably know this painting

called Despair, oil on canvas (1893-94)

Meet Jeff Koons' 12 ft "Balloon Dog (Orange)" - the most expensive piece of art by a living artist sold on a public auction at a record $58,4 mnl. Jeff Koons made five variations of colored sculptures (red, orange, magenta, blue and yellow) aiming at reflecting "<..> joy of celebrating a birthday or a party." This theme has been well-marked appearing in many topnotch cultural and art sites such as Grand Canal in Venice to the roof terrace of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Cézanne have made numerous studies and five paintings of the theme which is very significant for art history and is a cornerstone in the artist's artistic career, a prelude to his most acclaimed works.

If you are curious, the list of the most expensive art pieces ever sold (ca.50 items) in auctions include nine Picasso's and five Vincent van Goghworks, buyers apart from mostly American museums include Arab royals, quite a few hedge fund founders and businessmen, and ex-prime minister of Georgia, also a successful businessman. IMHO, Picasso is a Louis Vuitton of art world - or you crave it and adore (especially, the real luxury models), or you find it too mainstream like some of LV's model that made one of my consultant colleagues specializing in luxury say that LV is an "aspirational brand for secretaries" (no offense, plus, this colleague has so many leather goods with LV monogram). Myself, I like a more figurative blue and pink periods of Piccaso and the time of his collaboration with Braque.

Coming back to aspirational point of art, I want to finish the post with famous rapper Jay-Z's recent song Picasso Baby.

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About Me

So, who am I? Waggishly, I call myself a “contemporary nomad” as this nickname best describes from one side, my professional nomadism of a business consultant for whom staying in hotel rooms is more common than in her own apartment, for whom commuting means taking at least a three-hour flight and from the other – my passion for contemporary art and attempts of making a “mobile” art myself while I travel for work.